TBABJ Sponsoring Feb. 15 Reception for PBS Host Gwen Ifill at Poynter Institute

PBS host Gwen Ifill will be the honored guest of a reception co-sponsored by the Tampa
Bay Association of Black Journalists Feb. 15, when she brings her show Washington Week to St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater.

After the 3 p.m. taping, which includes a half-hour local show to be aired on WEDU-Ch. 3 after her national version, Ifill will come to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies for a fundraising appearance. Her meet-and-greet reception co-sponsored by TBABJ will follow that appearance, starting at 7:15 p.m. at the Poynter Institute, 800 Third St. South, St. Petersburg.

Friends and members of the TBABJ will be able to attend the reception for free. Please email us if you plan to attend, though walk-ups are welcome. To attend the 6 p.m. presentation at Poynter, you must pay a $25 donation.

If you have any questions, feel free to email TBABJ president Eric Deggans or call 727-893-8521.

TBABJ Membership Meeting at 11a.m. Saturday Jan. 12 in Tampa

The group has set its next membership meeting for 11 a.m. Saturday Jan. 12, at the same place where meetings earlier this year have been held:

Carrollwood Sweet Tomatoes
14703 North Dale Mabry Hwy. (At Ehrlich Rd./Bearss Ave.)
Tampa, FL 33618-2025,
Phone: 813-960-5220


For Mapquest directions, click here.

This meeting will be important for several reasons. We're going to make plans for all our events for the coming year, we're going to talk some more about the kick off party in Chicago in July for the 2009 NABJ convention in Tampa, we're going to talk about soliciting entries for our Griot Drum Awards by the end of the month, we're going to confirm some new officers for the group and if we're lucky, we'll see some black journalists who are new to the area stop by to meet everyone.

Please join us -- I know its tough to make a meeting at the beginning of the year, but we really need to pull together on some of these projects and get organized before the year gets too far away from us.

Thanks in advance for your efforts...

Eric Deggans
President, Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists
Chair, NABJ Media Monitoring Committee
TV/Media Critic, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
http://www.tbabj.com
(727) 893-8521